From DE 10 2008 005 400 A1 a generic internal combustion engine having an exhaust gas turbocharger is known, wherein an exhaust gas recirculation line which connects the exhaust section and the intake section is provided. The exhaust gas recirculation line branches off here from the exhaust section of the internal combustion engine upstream of a turbine of the exhaust gas turbocharger and opens again into an intake section of the internal combustion engine downstream of the compressor of the exhaust gas turbocharger, so that in this case one speaks in terms of a high pressure exhaust gas recirculation. Here, an exhaust gas recirculation valve is arranged in the region of the exhaust gas recirculation line.
Generally in modern motor vehicles, an increased exhaust gas recirculation is to take place, in order to thereby be able to reduce the NOx threshold values, which form the basis for example of the Euro-6 standard. At the same time, in Otto engines a reduction of the fuel consumption can be achieved in the partial-load operational range. The lowering of the NOx emission values by a pure exhaust gas aftertreatment, for example by an SCR catalytic converter, has been found not to be sufficient here. A disadvantage in known high pressure exhaust gas recirculation systems, however, is the reduced exhaust gas mass flow which is available for the exhaust gas turbocharger, which results in a reduced compressor efficiency and a complex and hence expensive cooling of the recirculated exhaust gases, because these are usually taken almost directly from the internal combustion engine.